SPARTANs Never Die
by Tolkienfanatic
Summary: A Spartan team is a formidable fighting force. They can turn the tide in battles, stop invasions, save entire planets. But in a new universe, against a new enemy, their strength and prowess may not be enough...
1. Reveille

_**A/N:**__ I'm going to start off by admitting something. I cannot read the last two pages of Ghosts of Onyx without tearing up. I can't get through the final segment of The Pillar of Autumn without having to resist the urge to stand and honor Noble Six's sacrifice. And Jorge. Poor, brave Jorge. And Kat. Carter. Emile. Will. Holly. Dante. Joshua. Samuel. All the rest._

_All of those valiant, unflinching men and women. To me, they serve as a reminder of all of the REAL people who have laid down their lives, willingly and knowingly, that others may live. So this is for them, for the men and women, soldier and civilian alike, who aren't here today. I may not be the greatest writer in history, but I'll give this my very best. It's the least I can do. Don't expect this to be all maudlin, though - I don't do maudlin. I do snark, I do character development, and I do lots and LOTS of crap blowing up._

_More to the point, I've been reading too many Halo/Mass Effect crossovers recently. If that's possible. And I had a Thought. Not a thought - a Thought. So many of those crossovers focus on MCPO John-117. Yes, I've seen others, most notably __The Fighting Spirit__, which features Jorge-052. But most focus on 117. We're all used to seeing a single SPARTAN end up in Mass Effect, with all the angst that entails. But what about a full team instead? What happens then? I have no idea, honestly. But let's find out._

_Also, the Halo: Reach OST is tremendous fun to listen to while writing this. I recommend 'Tip of the Spear' and the remix of 'Both Ways' for most of this chapter. Also, hop back to the past for Halo 3's glorious 'This Is The Hour.' You'll know when to play it, I promise._

Alicia Shepard, Hero of the Alliance and the first Human Spectre, absently brushed her unruly red hair out of her eyes and scowled. She had a pounding headache, which the Cerberus agent - Miranda, that was her name - assured her was just a temporary side effect of being brought back from the dead, and her face still felt stiff and wooden. Not that she could really complain; a headache and some uncooperative muscles were eminently preferable to being... Well. Dead. What she _could_ complain about was the fact that she was stuck on a shuttle to the Human colony of Freedom's Progress with a pair of operatives from a shadowy, not-quite-terrorist organization, on a mission at the behest of said organization's leader. Who also happened to be responsible for her revival.

"We've reached the colony, Shepard." Alicia turned in her seat to watch Jacob Taylor, the Cerberus biotic who'd accompanied her since she found him pinned down by rogue security mechs, manipulate the viewscreen and scanner suite. "Getting some weird readings, though. Some kind of gravitational anomaly on the far side of the colony."

Miranda walked up to peer over his shoulder. "That certainly is unusual. Any chance we could be looking at what caused this?"

"That's a negative, Ma'am." Jacob shook his head. "Whatever this is, it only appeared a few seconds ago." He turned back to the screen, blinked, and adjusted the sensor controls. "And, uh. Now it's gone."

"Gone?" Alicia cocked her head. "Might be worth investigating, once we've secured any survivors."

Jacob nodded, keeping his eyes firmly on the this time. "My thoughts exactly. Even if it's not what caused this, it could still be related."

Miranda looked pensive. "No signs of an active power source in the area, though. So whatever it was, nothing on the colony caused it."

Alicia shrugged and unslung her assault rifle. "Well, we'll deal with that once we're finished securing the colony. We're approaching the DZ now. Gear up."

Jacob moved to the door beside Shepard, unfolding a combat shotgun, while Miranda slotted a fresh thermal clip into her compact sub-machine gun. The gullwing door popped open, and the trio dropped several meters to the catwalk below, the two Cerberus operatives landing somewhat more lightly than the heavily-armored Spectre. They moved swiftly and efficiently through the colony, clearing building after empty building. As they approached yet another, Alicia heard muted sounds coming from inside. She jerked her clenched fist to head level, the universal 'freeze' signal, and her team stopped in their tracks. She motioned them forward, and they stacked up behind her as she palmed the door lock, then moved into the room, rifle raised, as it opened.

The masked, hooded aliens on the other side of the room responded with the speed and precision of professional soldiers, and Shepard found herself staring down the muzzles of three assault rifles. Then she saw the fourth member of the new force, and relaxed slightly. "Tali! Good to see you."

The slim alien girl recoiled slightly. "Sh...Shepard?" She asked wonderingly. "How...how are you...you're dead."

Alicia lowered her rifle - Miranda and Jacob kept their weapons up and ready, as did the remainder of the Quarian fireteam - and grinned. "Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated, et cetera."

"Evidently." Tali recovered quickly from her initial shock. "It's good to see you again, Shepard."

"Likewise. Anyway. What brings you here?"

"One of ou-"

"That's none of your business, Cerberus!" the quarian squad leader spat abruptly, cutting Tali off.

Alicia blinked. "What?"

"You. Cerberus. Don't think I don't recognize that insignia!" The Quarian Marine gestured angrily at Jacob and Miranda, both of whom had the Cerberus symbol on their suits.

"You...work for Cerberus now?" Tali sounded uncertain.

Alicia sighed, exasperated. "No. We share a common goal, at the moment. Human colonies are disappearing. I want to find out why. So does the Illusive Man."

Tali thought for a moment. "All right, Shepard. I trust you." She turned to the squad leader. "Stand down."

He bristled. "But-"

"_Now_."

The Marine didn't move for a moment, then grudgingly lowered his weapon. The squad followed suit, as did Jacob and Miranda.

"As I was saying," Tali continued, "One of our people was here when the colony went dark. His name is Veetor - he was here on his Pilgrimage."

Alicia crossed her arms. "All right. We'll keep an eye out for him."

The marine stepped forward again. "No! Absolutely not. He is _our_ responsibility, and you will _not_ interfere!"

"Oh, Keelah." Tali sighed, then rounded on the larger alien. "Sergeant, if you are going to make an issue out of this, I will have no choice but to order you back to the ship. Is that clear?"

"But-"

"No buts, Sergeant. You may not trust Cerberus, but I trust Shepard. She can take care of it. We stay here."

"...Understood, Ma'am."

Alicia watched the exchange with a cocked eyebrow. "Wow, Tali. You're much more...forceful than you used to be."

"A lot of things changed after you died, Shepard," Tali said bitterly. "I'm not just a teenager fresh off my Pilgrimage anymore."

Alicia winced slightly. "I'm sorry."

The smaller woman shook her head violently. "It's not your fault. Anyway, you should get moving. We need to find Veetor."

The Spectre nodded. "Of course. If we find him, we'll contact you."

"Stay safe, Shepard. Keelah se'lai."

"You too, Tali." Alicia stepped past the quarians and out the door, followed by Jacob and Miranda. Jacob seemed pensive, Miranda slightly annoyed. Both elected to stay silent, though, so she continued moving deeper into the colony.

It was Jacob who eventually broke the silence. "Shepard. That anomaly's back. Stronger, too."

"Any sign of a source? Something generating it?" Miranda again peered over Jacob's shoulder at the readout.

The biotic shook his head. "Nothing's coming up on the scanner." His brow furrowed. "Long-range motion tracker has sporadic movement, though."

"All right, then. We've got company, then." Alicia flicked her safety off. "If it moves, you shoot it, unless it's Human or Quarian."

No sooner had the words left her mouth then a pair of LOKI mechs unfolded themselves from behind a low wall and opened fire. Shepard ducked behind a crate, swearing as rounds sparked off her shields.

"These bastards are playing for keeps!" A low _ping_! told her her shields were recharged, and she leaned out to fire a long burst into one of the mechs, popping its kinetic barrier and riddling it with holes.

A nimbus of blue light surrounded Jacob's hands, and he stood up and made a pulling motion with both arms. The remaining mech was jerked into the air, where Miranda casually blew its head off with her little SMG.

"I didn't think they were supposed to do that." Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"They're _not_." Miranda frowned grimly. "The only reason they'd shoot to kill is if someone had overridden their normal programming."

Jacob nodded. "And to do that, they'd have to be at the drone control center. Which is...here." A waypoint appeared on Alicia's HUD.

"Well, that's our destination for the moment, then. Let's move."

As they rounded a corner, Shepard's team came out onto a catwalk overlooking a large plaza, a pair of massive blast doors dominating the far side. That wasn't what caught their attention, however. Shepard signaled 'Stop' and 'Go to ground,' and the trio slipped behind a group of crates as they surveyed the scene below.

A dozen or more LOKI guard mechs patrolled the courtyard, while missile-armed aerial drones flitted back and forth above. In the center of the drone shell stood three YMIR heavy mechs, 8-foot, heavily armored behemoths armed with missiles and a vicious autocannon.

"That'll be the control center." Jacob pointed to the blast doors. He put a hand to his earpiece, then grimaced. "Sounds like the landing pad's overrun with mechs, Shepard. Our evac can't come in until we take them out.

"Got a plan to get around those mechs, Shepard?" Miranda was testing her. No mistaking that tone of voice. "We're essentially surrounded."

"Thought I'd try shooting my way out - mix things up a little." The Spectre grinned and compacted her rifle, stowed it in place on her back, and drew a heavy grenade launcher.

Miranda looked dubious, but simply shrugged and slid in a fresh thermal clip.

"All right. Jacob, take the LOKIs. Miranda, you've got drones. On my mark. Three...two...one..._mark_!" The trio rose out of cover, Miranda and Jacob already firing.

The mechs reacted quickly, LOKIs going to ground, while the drones flew complicated evasion patterns to throw off incoming fire. The three YMIRs spread out, plodding steadily towards the trio on the catwalk. Jacob's pistol barked, and a LOKI went down, its arm blown away. It stood shakily, only for the second shot to catch it squarely in the head, and it went down again. Miranda's little SMG sounded more like a power saw than a firearm, laying down a withering stream of bullets that knocked drones from the sky like a giant flyswatter.

Alicia braced the grenade launcher against the railing, and put two rounds into the nearest YMIR. The big mech staggered, then recovered, none the worse for wear. Shepard muttered a curse, and fired two more grenades. The first popped the mech's kinetic shielding, and the second detonated squarely on its chassis, blasting a hole in it. She tore her pistol from its holster and fired three rounds through the hole, and the YMIR went down with a mechanical roar of protest. She quickly repeated the same process with the second YMIR, and it detonated as its power cell went critical. She paused, to reload and get a sense of the overall situation. It wasn't good.

Even with Miranda and Jacob knocking mechs out as quickly as they were, the tide was rapidly turning against them as more and more robots arrived from around the colony. As Alicia finished her reload, a _clank_ from behind her was the only warning she got before bullets pinged off her shields. She dove to the catwalk and rolled, pulling her shotgun as she did. The LOKI mechs who'd snuck up behind them tracked her, and her shields broke under the sustained barrage. She bit down on a yelp of pain as projectiles pierced her armor. One hit her right arm, and her shotgun went skittering away to drop off the catwalk.

"Shepard!" Jacob broke cover, sprinting toward the downed Spectre. He nearly made it, before the third, forgotten YMIR opened fire from almost directly below him. Jacob's shields flared and failed as the heavy cannon rounds tore at him, and he went down, bleeding badly but mercifully unconscious. Miranda, too, broke cover, but the YMIR chose that moment to launch a missile, destroying the catwalk and dumping her, Shepard, and the unconscious Jacob to the ground meters below.

Shepard crashed to the ground, letting out a pained gasp as she felt ribs snap. Miranda landed on her feet, shield flaring as it absorbed the impact, only to be shot from behind by a LOKI with a heavy pistol. She went down, coughing blood, and the YMIR rumbled into view, tearing itself free of the wreckage of the erstwhile catwalk. It levelled its autocannon at Shepard, preparing to make the killing shot.

There was a flat, sharp _crack_! The heavy mech's head exploded.

Shepard blinked, and turned painfully to look for the source of the unfamiliar noise. Far across the courtyard, atop a huge column, a figure in dull green armor knelt, a long rifle held to its shoulder. Another _crack_, and a pair of LOKI mechs were torn in half.

The somewhat overwhelmed Spectre was just beginning to process this when another LOKI went flying from the ruined catwalk overhead. Another figure, this time in blue armor, jumped down after it, landing on the mech's torso and crushing it. The figure drew an archaic-looking rifle from his back and fired several bursts, each blowing the head cleanly off a LOKI. A YMIR dropped from the wall, pounding toward the blue...whatever it was. It emptied its rifle into the charging mech, then rolled aside as the YMIR thundered past.

The mech turned, autocannon spinning up, when a _third_ figure, armored in white, appeared in the courtyard. It crossed the several-hundred-foot space in a heartbeat, and took a tremendous flying leap toward the mech. Its arm snaked out as it passed, and clamped a blue, glowing sphere to the YMIR's head. The big robot turned to track this new target, but the sphere detonated in a thunderclap, neatly vaporizing its torso. Several other, smaller figures flickered into being as what Shepard could only assume was cloaking disengaged, adding yet more guns to the fight.

The unfolding tableau seemed to Shepard to have taken minutes to unfold before herd in her adrenaline-and-combat-stimulant-heightened state, but her armor's automated Medi-Gel dispenser kicking in told her it had taken a mere handful of seconds. Breath hissed from between her clenched teeth as the pain of her wounds abated, and she propped herself up on a nearby wall and dragged her rifle out, firing crisp, precise bursts that cut a swath through the guard mechs in her field of view. Every burst sent agony screaming through her chest, confirming her suspicions about her broken ribs. It didn't matter. She kept firing.

It was over in seconds. The plaza was strewn with smouldering robots, pieces of robots, and pieces of building. And one Alicia Shepard, slightly used.

The blue figure paused for a moment, and the others suddenly fanned out to cover the plaza. Satisfied, the figure turned and walked toward Shepard, stopping directly in front of her.

Fred-104, Lieutenant Junior Grade and acting CO of Blue Team, looked down at the armored woman braced against the wall. Normal height, mildly augmented, judging from her muscle density. No visible scars - she was either very, very green or very, very good. As he took in the extent of her injuries, and the oddly-shaped rifle cradled in her arms_ despite_ her injuries, he was inclined to believe she was very, very good.

"Courtyard's clear, Fred." Kelly's voice chirped in his ear.

"No signs of activity on the perimeter either." Linda's quiet, steady contralto added.

"Good. Maintain your overwatch, Linda. Kelly, get Mendez and the doctor under cover. Ash, you and Mark are on perimeter security. Olivia, you're our eyes outside this plaza. I need to know what else is here. Tom, Lucy, you're our rapid reaction. Stay loose and ready to move." Seven lights blinked green on Fred's HUD, and his Spartans fanned out.

All of this took maybe two seconds, and Fred returned his attention to the wounded soldier before him.

"Y-you a-" Shepard descended into a fit of coughing. Blood spattered the ground, and the figure's boots.

"Don't talk, Ma'am." Shepard stared in mute shock at the quiet, baritone voice emanating from the suit - that's what it was, she realized, a suit, not a mech. "From the look of it, you've got a punctured lung. We need to get you out of here."

Shepard nodded slowly, before pointing to Jacob and Miranda. The man cocked his head, and two of his soldiers - both smaller than him, Jesus Christ he was _huge_ - trotted over and lifted the two Cerberus operatives without apparent effort propping them sitting upright against the wall.

The man removed his helmet, revealing black hair and a very young face. Shepard blinked. A _very_ young face.

"I'm Lieutenant Sierra-104, Ma'am, UNSC. We'll take this from here."

Shepard nodded weakly, and crimped her left hand, activating her Omni-Tool. The Medi-Gel reserves in her suit were nearly dry, so she carefully pulled a canister of extra gel from its container on her belt and jammed it into her suit's torso injector. She took a deep, relieved breath as the pain abated and her wounds began to close. She took the Lieutenant's offered hand and levered herself carefully upright.

"Commander Alicia Shepard, Systems Alliance. Thanks for the assist, Lieutenant."

The man's brow furrowed momentarily at her mention of the Alliance, but he smiled nonetheless, the expression odd, as if he rarely used it. "Earth and all her colonies, ma'am." He said it as if quoting something. When Shepard simply gave him a blank look, he frowned. "Ma'am, you do know what the UNSC _is_, don't you?"

Alicia shook her head.

"The Covenant?"

Headshake.

"Reach?" If he was any less controlled, she'd have said he sounded desperate.

"I'm afraid not, Lieutenant." She realized that his squad had slowly gravitated towards the two of them, and were listening mutely. She sighed. "Where are you based, Lieutenant?"

"Onyx. Well. We _were_ based there. Now? I have no idea."

"Well, then. I think it'd be best if you came with me for the time being. At least until we figure out what's going on."

The Lieutenant pulled his helmet back on, and stood silently for a moment. Judging from the body language of the others, they were talking on a private channel. The Lieutenant refocused on Alicia. "Agreed. My squad could use some time to recover, and our armor is in need of repair."

"We'll see what we can do, Lieutenant." She looked over to where Miranda had just managed to stand. "Miranda. Tell the Illusive Man we're gonna need some more shuttles."

Miranda, for once obeyed without snarking off first, which was a miracle in and of itself. Jacob shook his head and roused himself slowly, blinking. He froze for an instant at the sight of the unknown soldiers standing over him, and immediately went for his shotgun - only to stop a beat later, as he realized he suddenly had five guns trained on him.

"Stand down, Jacob. They're friendly. I do need you to go find Tali, though. Get her in here to extract Veetor. Make sure she knows to send me anything pertinant they come up with." Alicia gave the wounded Cerberus biotic a quick visual once-over, then, satisfied he wasn't going to bleed out, turned back to the youthful Lieutenant. "Any of your team wounded?"

"Nothing they can't handle, Commander."

A extremely unladylike snort came from Shepard's right, and she turned to see a graying, older woman in a lab coat and a man in fatigues and a duty cap, escorted by the white-armored soldier, who Shepard saw had '087' painted on its chest. The older woman stepped forward.

"Bullshit. You've all been in near-constant combat for days, and I can see all of your vitals." She turned to Alicia. "We need to get them somewhere secure, preferably with a hospital. Or at least a well-stocked medical lab."

"Doctor, that's not nece-"

"The hell it's not. Don't argue with me, Fred. The lot of you _will_ let me treat you, or so help me I will personally hit every last one of you over the head with a brick and keep you in a medically-induced coma for a _week_!"

The Lieutenant - Fred - paused, then raised one hand in a gesture of surrender. "Yes, Ma'am."

The woman rolled her eyes theatrically, walking briskly over to where Alicia stood. "They're good kids, but so damnably stubborn sometimes..." She stuck out a hand, and shook Alicia's firmly. "Doctor Catherine Halsey. ONI Section Three. You haven't heard of me, don't bother trying. These," she waved one hand, indicating the armored soldiers, a glint of pride in her eyes, "are my Spartans." She scowled. "Well, mostly mine. That ass Ackerson had a few of them, but not anymore."

"Commander Alicia Shepard, Systems Alliance. And a Council Spectre."

"Doctor, I really don't think you should be passing out classified information like party favors." Under the iron control, Alicia could practically feel Fred's teeth grinding.

"It hardly matters anymore." Halsey pushed her glasses up with a gesture so natural she probably didn't even realize she'd done it. She gestured around her at the colony. "Wherever we are, it's clearly not where we were intended to be. In fact-" She snatched Alicia's rifle and, before the Spectre could protest, had it halfway disassembled on the ground.

"Aha. As I suspected." She reassembled it with casual ease and handed it back to Alicia, who took it with an air of mild bemusement. Halsey again straightened her glasses, and smiled triumphantly. "Completely different weapons technology. And unless my sensors are terribly mistaken, that's a Dark Energy reactor powering your armor, isn't it?"

"Essentially, yes, but what-"

"Excellent. These things are an absolute _chore_ to reset." Halsey neatly cut Alicia off. "I was afraid the transition had thrown them off."

"Transition, Doctor?"

"Catherine, please. I despise formality - it just gets in the way."

"Transition, _Catherine_?" Alicia asked gamely.

"We activated a piece of Forerunner tech to escape an invading army. Unless I'm mistaken - which isn't often - it was supposed to transport us into a Dyson Sphere. Instead, it dropped us here."

Fred shifted slightly. "You're saying that a piece of _Forerunner_ tech didn't work properly?"

Halsey gave him a flat look. "Of course it didn't work properly. _You_ wouldn't work properly either, if you took a direct hit from a Fuel Rod Cannon. And you're considerably more robust than that pylon was."

The Spartan folded his arms. "So, assuming you're correct, where are we?"

Halsey shrugged. "I haven't the faintest idea. Judging by the tech and architecture here, though..." She rounded on Shepard. "What year is it?"

"2185. Why?"

There was a pregnant pause, and then Halsey sighed, deflating slightly. "Well, that confirms it, then." She turned back to Fred. "To hazard a guess, I'd say we got thrown into another dimension."

Fred said nothing for almost a full ten seconds, then spoke very carefully. "Doctor. Are you certain you're all right? It sounded like you said-"

"You know perfectly well what I said, Spartan," Halsey snapped. "Stop looking at me like I have two heads."

Despite the helmet's reflective visor, the Spartan somehow managed to look slightly guilty. "I know _what_ you said, Ma'am, just not _why_. The Multiverse Theory is called a theory for a reason."

Halsey shook her head. "Is it really that hard to believe? The Shaw-Fujikawa drive, after all, tears a hole in space-time and allows travel through another dimension. And it's a proven fact that Forerunner Slipspace devices are orders of magnitude stronger than our best drives."

"But, for it to be _that_ far off..."

Halsey again shook her head. "It doesn't take much. I mean, just for a normal Shaw-Fujikawa engine, trying to end up in the right system in an uncalculated, blind jump is like...like trying to hit a bullet, with a smaller bullet, whilst wearing a blindfold, riding a horse. For something similar - which this was - with a Forerunner device? That's like trying to jump out of a moving Warthog, off a bridge, into a shot glass. I'm not the least bit surprised, honestly."

"Sorry to cut into the discussion, Doctor, Lieutenant, but our evac's here." Alicia pointed to a trio of Cerberus shuttles touching down nearby. "We can continue this later."

Halsey nodded. "Of course, Commander. The sooner my Spartans get treatment, the better." Fred nodded, and moments later, he and the other Spartans, along with Miranda and the newly-arrived Jacob, were piling into the shuttles. Shepard caught sight of several of them loading large, cylindrical shapes into the shuttles as well, but put that off for later. Halsey started to follow, but Alicia caught her arm and leaned close to her ear, counting on the engine blast from the shuttles to keep her from being overheard.

"Catherine. Don't let the Cerberus doctors get their hands on the Spartans. Or the techs, for that matter. I'll find a way to get them treatment, but trust me, Cerberus does _not_ need to get their hands on soldiers like these."

Halsey gazed at Alicia's face searchingly, then nodded. "Very well, Commander. I'll defer to your knowledge of this 'Cerberus.'"

"That's probably for the best. Now. Shall we?"

Halsey nodded, and the Spectre and the surgeon climbed into the last shuttle. The door closed, and the shuttles began their journey back to the station, leaving the colony empty. The quarians had already recovered the hysterical Veetor, and all that remained on the surface was dust and echoes.

_**A/N:**__ Thus endeth Chapter 1. Finally. Someone please remind me to never attempt to type something this long on my iPad again._

_Some brief notes: Yes, this chapter occurs directly after the events of Ghosts of Onyx, and will involve the surviving SPARTAN-IIs and SPARTAN-IIIs of Blue Team (Minus Holly, Dante, and Will), as well as Mendez and Halsey. Shepard's still the protagonist, but she's not going to be quite so alone in the limelight as she is in the games. The canon squadmates WILL be part of the story as well, and I can't wait to see how they interact with the Spartans. And I'm mostly doing away with the whole 'two squadmates only' rule, because (1) it's bullshit and there only because of game mechanics, and (2) what's the fun of having a team of eight Spartans when I can only use two at a time?_

_I honestly have no idea how this is going to pan out, so trust me when I say that I'm just as much in the dark as you all are. I'm mostly playing this by ear - I know how and when I want to end it, but only the vaguest idea of how I'm getting there._

_Finally, yes I did muck with canon the tiniest bit. There were a LOT more mechs than in the game, but I needed a threat big enough to actually do some damage to Shepard. After all, where's the fun in writing a dramatic rescue scene when the rescuee isn't in trouble? And for those of you wondering why the Spartans' weapons chewed up even the heavy mechs like they were tissue paper, don't worry, I'll cover that soon._

_Until next time, Readers mine._


	2. The Only Easy Day

_**A/N:**__ Hello again. I've got a lot of free time on my hands at the moment, so I'll probably be churning out a lot of material fairly quickly. I don't know how long I'll manage to keep going at this pace, but I'll give it my best shot._

**_Now, ye be warned: SPOILERS AHEAD._**

_Short chapter this time, but it's between missions, so whatever. I'm just using this to set up the dynamic between Shepard and Blue Team for the next while, which needed to be done. Next time will be longer. And more violent. Omega is not a friendly place - and SPARTANs don't take intimidation tactics very well._

_It wasn't as obvious last chapter, but my version of Blue Team is fairly chatty, by SPARTAN standards. There's a very good reason for this. They are, for all intents and purposes, cut off from their own universe, and they know it. They also know that Spartans' tremendous fighting ability brings with it a total logistical nightmare. Large quantities of food for accelerated metabolisms, biofoam for their injectors (I'll probably use Medi-Gel, unless Halsey can whip some up in the Normandy's Med Bay), repairs and highly specialized replacement parts for their MJOLNIR and SPI armor, and ammunition for a type of weapon (slugthrowers like the MA5-D and Magnum pistol) which barely exists in this new universe. In short, they need a support structure with enough resources to keep them supplied and in the fight. Shepard presents an excellent opportunity to acquire all of these. There IS another reason they're being so friendly with Shepard, but you'll just have to read the chapter to find out why._

**_END SPOILERS. Safe to read now._**

_To those of you concerned about me 'nerfing' the SPARTANs to 'fit in' with the Mass Effect universe's reduced, well, power level, for lack of a better term: Don't be. I intend to keep them exactly as they are - a stupifyingly lethal unit of heavily-enhanced, superbly-trained, insanely experienced soldiers who can take out pretty much anything thrown at them without much trouble. We'll handle their reaction to things like Biotics when we get there, but I can state with total confidence that there will be no nerf. In fact, I'm looking forward to the first time Blue Team encounters Wrex..._

_Anyway, you're not here to listen to me blather on. ON WITH THE CHAPTER!_

Alicia stepped away from the vid-com with a muted snarl. She was_ really_ starting to dislike that condescending bastard.

The Illusive Man had been patronizing, circumspect, and just the tiniest bit smug throughout the entirety of their mercifully brief conversation. He had, however, thoroughly debriefed her. He took the news of the entire colony's loss without so much as blinking, a fact that irked Shepard even more than his constantly superior attitude. He'd then looked over the take from the video Tali had sent Shepard of their recovery of Veetor, and concurred with Miranda's initial impression - the near-mythical Collectors appeared to be collecting humans now.

She stalked out of the conference room, Jacob straightening up from where he'd been leaning against the wall and falling into step with her. "How'd it go?"

"Predictably." Jacob winced slightly at the quiet venom in her voice, but wisely said nothing. "He spent a lot of time posturing, gave me a tiny bit of useful information, a bunch of dossiers, and sent me on my way. But, at least I'm getting a ship. And Joker too, apparently."

Before the conversation could go any further, they arrived back in the small lounge by the docks, where Miranda sat waiting. She stood and fell in with Jacob and Alicia. "Well?"

"We're leaving as soon as the ship's prepped and the crew's ready." Miranda nodded. Of course she'd known the Illusive Man was giving Shepard a ship.

"And these Spartans of yours? What about them?"

Alicia snorted and kept walking. "They're not 'my' Spartans, Miranda. But yes, they're coming. I promised Dr. Halsey I'd get them treated, and hopefully the ship's Medbay will be able to handle them. My only real question is whether or not we'll be able to crack open those stasis pods."

Miranda's brow furrowed slightly. The stasis pods were impossible. To all appearances, the Spartans inside them were simply frozen. Dr. Halsey claimed otherwise. Either way, though, they'd proved impossible to open. "Well, if not, we can just keep them in the cargo hold until we find someone who can open them."

The trio rounded a corner and walked into the large lab the Spartans and their compatriots had appropriated upon arriving on the station. One of them - Kelly, if Alicia recalled correctly - had her helmet off, and was carrying on an animated discussion with CPO Mendez about the various differences between their own weapons and the 'new' ones Alicia had shown them earlier. Another, Linda, stood at a worktable, methodically cleaning every inch of her sniper's rifle. She worked slowly, carefully, almost lovingly, taking care that every piece was pristine and well-lubricated before snapping them back into place. Fred stood with Halsey in a corner, talking quietly. The smaller ones - Saber Team, she recalled - were propped sitting against a wall. From what she'd gathered from Halsey, they'd been fighting for several days before their dimensional jaunt, and were fairly exhausted. Shepard blinked. Two of the Spartans were missing.

She was about to ask where they'd gone when Kelly caught her eye and nodded at the space behind her. She turned in time to see the two missing Spartans decloak where they'd been standing at either side of the door. She felt her eyebrows climbing toward her hairline. Halsey had apparently taken at her word about Cerberus's untrustworthiness. Alicia grinned. She barely knew these people, and she was already starting to like them.

Fred turned away from Halsey to face Shepard directly. "Spartans! Officer on deck!" She barely had time to blink before every Spartan was standing at perfect, parade-ground-worthy attention, including the previously sleeping members of Saber Team.

Alicia snapped to and fired off a smart salute in response to Fred's. "As you were." She gave the blue-armored Spartan a half-exasperated look. "You don't have to do that, Lieutenant. God knows I don't stand on formality."

Fred gave her a candid look. "All due respect, Ma'am, but yes we do. Uniform Code of Conduct."

Alicia very nearly rolled her eyes. "Listen, Lieutenant, I don't know how things were-" she'd been about to say 'where you came from,' but a furious gesture from Catherine Halsey stopped her, "- in your unit before, but believe me when I say I truly hate formality." She spread her hands. "Despite the fact that the Powers That Be, in their infinite wisdom, have deigned to make lil' old me a Commander, I'm still a grunt, like you. I still carry a rifle and get my hands dirty. I still get stuck in the blood and the shit, and I still get my ass shot at." She let her gaze pan over the room, resting on each Spartan in turn. "None of you have said as much, but from what you _have_ said, the amount of combat experience in this room is more than that of every Alliance soldier in the sector put together. I respect that experience, and I'm not foolish enough to think that I know more than you, or have any business giving you orders."

Kelly coughed something that sounded suspiciously like 'Told you so,' and Linda quickly turned back to reassembling her rifle - but her shoulders were shaking slightly. Alicia blinked. "What? What'd I say?"

"Exactly what I told them you would." The gravelly, basso voice startled her, and she realized why a moment later. It was the first time she'd heard Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez speak. The Chief was powerfully built and in tremendously good shape despite his age, and moved with the lethal grace of a highly-trained killer. "I told them you weren't one of the Brass. That you were a soldier, just like them. Just like me. Not that they didn't already know that - we all saw what happened back on that colony."

"Furthermore, you're not just some Marine." Dr. Halsey stepped forward, flanking Mendez. "Back in _our_ universe, my Spartans didn't often interact with non-Spartan personnel more than they had to. Do you know why that is, Commander?"

Alicia folded her arms and tilted her head slightly, considering. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Spartans quietly leaving the room, followed by Jacob and Miranda. "If I had to hazard a guess, they probably wanted to avoid becoming to people who had such slim odds of surviving fighting the kind of enemy you send a Spartan team against." She'd had a long, involved, and very enlightening conversation with Dr. Halsey during the shuttle ride back from the colony, and had pieced together a general idea of the state of the alternate universe, and, more importantly, the role the Spartans had played in it. "In a war like that, the attrition rate had to be horrific. I'm not at all surprised they didn't want to associate with people who were virtually guaranteed to die before the day was out. Frankly, in their position, I'd probably end up doing the same."

Halsey chuckled. "Yet more proof you're not just a pretty face, Commander. Yes, that's about how I'd explain it. Now," Her eyes focused on the Spectre's face like a GARDIAN array, "the big question is this. All that being said, why do you think they're being so open around you? You're not even from the same universe."

Alicia frowned. "I...don't know, actually. From what you've told me, there's no reason they should. It goes completely against their usual behavior."

Halsey smiled a bit sheepishly. "That's not...completely accurate, Commander. There have been instances when a non-Spartan will manage to befriend them. Usually, it's someone who's fought alongside them for a long time, and has proven they won't die as easily as the rest. A certain Sergeant especially comes to mind." She waved away Alicia's puzzled look. "Anyway, all that is to say that they see you as more of a Spartan than a common Marine. From what I've read of that Codex you gave me, the closest thing the Alliance has to the SPARTAN program is N7. Which, apparently, you graduated with flying colors. You're the closest thing to one of their own they're going to find here, Commander." Her eyes darkened. "And believe me, they've lost enough of their own in the past few weeks. They're not robots, Commander. They have emotions and feelings, just like the rest of us. And they're hurting. They hide it well, but they're hurting badly."

Alicia nodded mutely, and Halsey adjusted her glasses slightly before continuing. "And worst of all, here, in this universe, they have no purpose. There's no Covenant to fight, no Insurrectionists to root out. My Spartans are fish out of water in peacetime, Commander. But you." Her face brightened subtly. "You, Commander, are going to _war_. Oh, I know it's not really a war, per se, but it's close. And unless I'm mistaken, you'll need all the firepower you can get."

Alicia nodded slowly, then more forcefully. "Of course. And I'd be happy to have them. But do they know you're offering?"

"Of course we do. Who do you think put her up to this?" Alicia turned to see Fred and Kelly walk back in, followed by the others.

The Spectre folded her arms. "Why?"

"To gauge your reaction, honestly." Fred shrugged. "It's easier to do if the people you're discussing aren't listening. Or at least if you don't _think_ they're listening."

"And? Now that you've seen it, now what?"

"Now we pack up our gear and head for the ship. And once we're away, you start training with the Chief." He jerked a thumb at Mendez, who smiled evilly. "We've got to get you up to standard before we go in again. Or at least as close to standard as we can, with your lack of augmentation and our lack of time."

Alicia was taken slightly aback. "You...I...what? Up to standard what?"

'Standard combat effectiveness. Strength, speed, training. The whole nine yards. We can't have you being a liability in the field." Alicia nearly took offense to the last bit, but the twinkle in Fred's eye gave him away.

"You...you're _messing with me_." Alicia stared wonderingly at the Spartan. "I don't believe it."

Kelly clapped a friendly hand on her shoulder and steered her toward the dock. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."

"I will?" Shepard was still somewhat off-balance after the series of revelations.

"Yep. _We_ all managed it. You'll do fine. Once the Chief is done with you, that is."

"That's right!" Alicia jumped slightly at the basso roar from directly behind her, and she spun to see Mendez, who had a look of such unholy glee she half-expected him to grow devil horns and a spiked tail. "Once I'm done with you, you _might_ be fit to fight alongside the Spartans. But _until_ then, you will _not_ be all right. You will be hurting like a mad bastard, because I will train you until you drop, then kick you back upright and _do it again!_"

Shepard's heart began to sink at the prospect of being worked over by someone used to training people as robust as the Spartans. She began to tune out as he continued to list off the things she'd be required to do (a 5-klick run in fifteen minutes? Yeah, right.), and caught sight of Kelly walking to the airlock. The Spartan paused and turned to face her.

"Oh, by the way, Alicia." She grinned, and spoke with the air of someone continuing a proud tradition.

"Welcome to Blue Team."

_**A/N:**__ Okay, before you shoot me, no, I'm not turning Shepard into a SPARTAN-II. It's completely impossible. All this means is that Blue Team is going to treat her more as one of their own than as yet another aloof, remote commander with whom they never interact except for briefings. _

_That's not to say that Shep isn't going to change, though. By the time Mendez - and I - am done with her, she'll be even more of a certified badass than she already is. But think about it like this: if I'm not nerfing the SPARTANs, and I'm not boosting ME's power level, but I still want to be able to write dangerous situations for the SPARTANs, I'm going to have to throw a LOT of really big, powerful stuff at them. The kind of stuff that ME-level Shep wouldn't survive. So yeah, she'll be getting training from The Chief. And depending on how clever Halsey can get with the Medbay stocks, we might see some augments down the line. Nothing like the SPARTAN-IIs, but significant nonetheless. _

_Anyway. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that you enjoy the chapters to come. Until next time, Readers mine._

_P.S: If you actually feel like I've REALLY screwed up, don't be afraid to tell me. Either review or PM me, and let me know what I did wrong._


	3. Quid Pro Quo

_**A/N:**__ Damn, am I on a roll or what? I'm spoiling you guys rotten with this update speed, aren't I? Anyway, welcome to Chapter Three of the fic. Which, because I didn't say so before, is indeed going to go all the way through Mass Effect 3...and maybe a bit further. Folks Need Heroes, you know, no matter where they are._

_A few notes:_

_This one starts pretty slowly. There's a lot of stuff to set up, and I'm of the opinion that the sooner it's out of the way, the sooner I can move the story along at a better pace. I've tried to break up the infodump and make it manageable, but that's the best I can do. All I can say is, hopefully I won't have to do it again for a while._

_Yes, this is the start of the Omega arc, which will be somewhere between two and four chapters, depending on how much I allow Shep and Blue Team to engage in their favorite activities, mainly Hurting People and Breaking Things. Me being me, it'll probably be a lot - I'm a combat writer at heart, if you've not guessed._

_Speaking of Blue Team, an Alert Reader sent me a message, requesting I list the SPARTANs present in this fic, for those who have not read Ghosts of Onyx. They are as follows:_

_Linda-058_  
_Kelly-087_  
_Fred-104_

_Lucy-B091_  
_Tom-B292_

_Ash-G099_  
_Mark_  
_Olivia_

_Four as-yet-unnamed SPARTAN-IIIs from Team Katana, in Forerunner Slipspace stasis pods._

_As I mentioned before the start of the first chapter, I'm completely doing away with the whole 'two squaddies only' mechanic, and that change is going to make itself felt here. And this should dispel any doubts about the SPARTANs' capabilities in this fic._

_One bit of mechanics I do need to address: the SPARTANs' weapons. Per Author fiat, slugthrowers in the ME-verse weren't terribly advanced (relatively speaking) when Mass Effect-powered weapons rendered them 'obsolete.' The Spartans' weapons, from the firearms and ordnance themselves to the propellant used in the bullets and the targeting software in weapons like Linda's SRS-99-S2 Anti-Matériel, are vastly more advanced, boasting much higher velocity, accuracy, and armor-penetration capability than any slugthrower the ME-verse has ever dreamed of. Due to the nature of ME-verse weapons, though, they are not, in terms of absolute killing power, that far different. HOWEVER. The Spartans' weapons do enjoy one very significant advantage, upon which our dear friend Mr. Jacob Taylor shall elaborate in a moment. I think you'll be pleased._

_Now kick back, relax, and enjoy._

The transit to Omega would take several weeks, as the Cerberus station the _Normandy_ had been constructed on was far out of the way of any Mass Relay, and the ship itself had only a small amount of fuel available, forcing them to use a long, slow burn to get to the nearest Relay. Nobody complained, though - the extra time was a blessing. The ship's crew used it to iron out hardware kinks and software glitches. The Engineering section, especially, had a long list of things that were "right and proper bollixed up, Ma'am," as Kenneth Donnelly had somewhat bluntly put it. Joker, on the other hand was ecstatic. Although he quieted down somewhat after Shepard had suggested he just write it a love poem already (sending Olivia, who'd been on her way to the Medbay for examination, into paroxysms of laughter), it was obvious he was very, very pleased. The ship's AI, EDI, seemed to like the ship as well, in a somewhat mechanical way. Currently, however, the AI was offline; Catherine Halsey had taken her down (with Shepard's permission) within hours of arriving aboard.

She had also taken one look at the Medbay, Tech Lab, and Armory and declared them all 'utterly insufficient,' and Shepard delayed their departure for several hours while Halsey ransacked the Cerberus station. Miranda gave her _carte blanche_ to take whatever she felt she needed, and the ONI doctor took full advantage of it. With the Spartans doing the heavy lifting, Halsey appropriated the contents of two tech labs, one biological research area, the entire chemical stockroom, and most of the machine shop, as well as the majority of the station's spare parts. Shepard was fairly certain she'd also hear Halsey mention something about a 'cloning vat,' whatever _that_ was. The Spartans' armor - and Shepard's - disappeared into the lab as well, forcing Shepard to scrounge enough outsized jumpsuits to give the Spartans something to wear.

After all of the new tools and materials had been transferred, Halsey locked herself in the Tech Lab, leaving a note on the door threatening to shoot anyone who interrupted her work. For the entirety of the journey to Omega, she slept in the Lab, only emerging for food and to move machinery in and out of the Lab. Alicia didn't know what she was up to, but was confident in the Doctor's ability. After all, if she could make Spartans, she obviously knew her way around a lab.

Jacob had taken advantage of Miranda's order as well, and before long _Normandy_'s Armory was filled with enough ordnance to start -and _win_ - a small war. After examining one of the MA-5D assault rifles the Spartans had brought with them, Jacob immediately set the station's machinists working on something he called an 'ammo press,' which was apparently used to manufacture ammunition for the Spartans' archaic weapons. Shepard initially expressed doubt about the practicality of continuing to use such outdated weaponry, but Jacob insisted. In fact, he was so vehement that Alicia was momentarily taken aback, especially when he told her he was seriously considering switching over to a slugthrower similar to the MA-5 (which, he assured her, their newly-acquired machine shop could easily fabricate). That was a bit too much.

"Listen, Jacob, I know they're probably excellent weapons, but I'm not convinced they've got the shield penetration capability we need."

The Cerberus operative grinned triumphantly, and shook his head. "Actually, Ma'am, it's almost like they were _designed_ to penetrate shields. They go through kinetic barriers like a hot knife through butter."

Alicia's eyes widened at the implication. If they didn't have to deal with shields, especially considering the weapons' inherent stopping power... "You know what, actually, make a set for me, too. As close to spec on the Spartans' as possible."

Jacob's face lit up, and he saluted with a big grin on his face. "Right away, Ma'am!"

The moment Shepard left the Armory, she was snapped up by Chief Mendez and all but dragged to the Shuttle Bay, where Mendez had set up his own new acquisition. The _Normandy_ now had a fully kitted-out gym, complete with a gravity generator that could be set to anywhere from .5 to 3 G's.

As promised, the scarred Petty Officer worked Shepard until the Spectre collapsed from exhaustion, dragged her upright, and did it again until Shepard _couldn't_ get up. He would then help her to the Galley, where the cook, Rupert, had would make a batch of what Mendez fondly referred to as 'jet fuel' - which tasted, predictably, like ass. Mendez swore by it, and, over time, Alicia realized why. The stuff tasted awful, sure, but within about an hour of eating it, the Spectre was revitalized enough for another go at her own personal, SCPO-supervised Hell. When she asked what was in it, all he'd tell her was that it was the same stuff they'd fed the Spartans during _their_ training. When she pressed for more information, she got a flat look and an extremely predictable response.

"If you've got enough breath to ask stupid questions, you've got enough breath to work! On your face and give me four hundred!"

Over the month and a half they were in transit, Alicia's already highly conditioned, carefully-engineered body was slowly moulded into pure steel. Mendez's training regime was brutal, but Alicia had to acknowledge its effectiveness.

As time went on, more and more of the Spartans would show up in Mendez's impromptu training center. At first, only Linda and Kelly participated, most only watched; they were under orders from Dr. Chakwas, _Normandy_'s surgeon, and weren't allowed to work out. They did anyway for a day or two, until Chakwas threatened to set Halsey on them. But as their wounds healed and the doctor pronounced them recovered, they began to join Shepard in her daily routine, though usually at either triple weight or triple reps. Mendez even set up a small boxing ring for their use, and the Spartans alternated with the Petty Officer, teaching Alicia how to fight like a Spartan: fast, hard, and dirty. The Spartans (Fred, Kelly, and Linda especially) were careful to pull their blows to avoid injuring her, but she got the sense that, if they needed to, every one of them could probably knock - or just _throw_ - her halfway across the hangar.

The weeks passed in a haze of constant exertion, and when Alicia finally went to bed each night, she was usually asleep before she'd even managed to change.

"Attention all passengers, this is your pilot speaking. We are now on final approach to Omega. Please ensure that all seat backs are in the upright position and all tray tables are up and locked. We thank you for choosing to fly with _Normandy_ Spacelines, and hope that you have a pleasant stay, don't get shot at too much, and return with enough blood to get you to triage in time."

"Well, that means we've got an hour or three left, then.". The intercom clicked off, and Alicia clasped Linda's offered hand and pulled herself off the mat to her feet.

The Spartan nodded. Linda's nonregulation red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she wiped the slight sheen of sweat from her forehead with a small towel. "Good. That should give us some time to eat and suit up.

The two of them, along with Tom and Lucy - who'd been sparring - rode the elevator up to Deck Three in comfortable silence. They ate quickly, Alicia not even noticing the 'jet fuel's taste anymore. Ash, Mark, and Olivia joined them partway through, with Fred arriving several minutes later to shepherd them up to Dr. Halsey's lab. The once-pristine lab was in complete disarray, with pages of notes, half-finished chemical solutions, and computer parts strewn across every available surface. The Doctor herself, on the other hand, was doing just fine; she stood in her spotless lab coat, dataslate in one hand and coffee in another, directing a group of techs as the Spartans began to suit up. She eventually put the slate down and called Shepard over.

Alicia followed her to a reinforced stand at the far end of the lab, where Shepard's armor was mounted, surrounded by tools, discarded metal plates, and circuitry. The armor itself was much bulkier and more angular than it had been, and as Halsey helped her into it, something felt...off.

"So, Doctor. What can you tell me about what you've done here?"

Halsey pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face and grabbed a nearby slate. "A fair amount, actually. I could've done more, but I don't have the materials - or facilities - to do so. As it stands now, your shield strength should be boosted by about sixty percent, and I've upgraded the helmet's sensor suite. I've also armored it better, so you shouldn't have as much trouble when your shield goes down. Once you get back and we get your neural implants in place, I'll also add a muscle-assist system to help counteract the additional weight, and boost your physical capabilities. I've got a few more tricks planned, but that's all for now, I'm afraid."

Alicia was stunned. "Good God, Catherine. You did all this in just six weeks?"

"Goodness, no. I also repaired the MJOLNIR and SPI armors, and upgraded the SPIs optical camouflage system and added shields. Can you believe he sent them out without _shields_? And they call _me_ a monster." Halsey looked somewhat outraged. "I've also begun work on the _Normandy_'s EW suite. And some...other projects." Alicia saw a number of vials and beakers Halsey had apparently hastily put away, and opened her mouth to ask, but Halsey shook her head. "No, Commander. What's in those is classified, I'm afraid." She gave the Spectre a speculative look. "Stay alive long enough, though, and you may just find out."

Alicia filed this away for later consideration and waited as the techs finished their work, then walked with Blue Team to the Armory, where Jacob waited, also suited up and ready. Shepard noticed he was carrying an MA-5, albeit with a Cerberus symbol on the side. She took one as well, along with a Magnum and a Tempest sub-machine gun, in case Jacob had been wrong about the new weapons. The Spartans took a mix of weapons, according to their preference. Alicia settled a belt with several pouches containing both loaded clips and individual rounds, and the lot of them left for the airlock behind the cockpit, where Miranda stood, already armed and ready. She took in the impressive array of weaponry they'd brought with a small smile.

"Planning to take over Omega, Lieutenant?"

"If we have to," Fred said simply. Alicia had noticed that Halsey was indeed right - the Spartans were much less talkative around the _Normandy_'s crew, as well as Miranda and Jacob. They didn't seem to see her the same way, though, which she found oddly flattering, in a somewhat ominous way. If Halsey was right, it meant they still expected Miranda and Jacob, and the entire crew, to die. Alicia shook that thought off and addressed the group.

"All right, People. We're here for a Salarian doctor, Mordin Solus, and a vigilante called Archangel. I don't expect it'll be difficult to get to Mordin; I'm not sure about Archangel. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

The Spectre's eyes flickered to the dataslate in her hand. "Omega is more or less under the control of one Aria T'Loak, an Asari crime boss. She has lots and lots of thugs with guns, and fairly close ties to the local merc groups. We'll probably have to deal with her at some point, and she could make our job here one hell of a lot harder if she chose to. If she sends her people to find us, we need to put up a strong front. I want to avoid outright violence with her men, but if it hits the fan, don't bother trying to leave them alive. But that's a last resort. Don't shoot unless I give the go-ahead or you are fired upon. Keep it clean."

Jacob and Miranda nodded, and Alicia saw eight green lights blink once on her HUD.

"All right, then." She palmed the door, and the airlock cycled. "Let's be about it."

As it turned out, Aria T'Loak already knew not only that they were there, but who they were as well. A four-eyed Batarian stood squarely in the middle of the corridor outside the airlock, one hand not quite resting on the butt of a heavy pistol holstered at his waist. He watched the approaching group warily, recognizing potential trouble when he saw it. As they reached him, he held up a hand.

"We know who you are, Shepard. Aria's expecting you in Afterlife." His voice was gruff and somewhat belligerent.

Alicia put on her sweetest smile. "Well, isn't that considerate of her! I'll be sure to pay her a visit, if I have time."

All four of the Batarian's eyes narrowed. "I'd suggest you go see her. Now."

Alicia maintained the smile. "And _I_ suggest you back off, unless you want me to send you back to your precious Aria in a body bag. I'm not here to play games with criminals. You go ahead. Tell her we'll be right along." She switched to private comms. "Olivia. Cover him." Green light.

The Batarian ground his teeth, and his hand drifted toward his pistol. Alicia's voice hit him like a whipcrack. "You touch it, and I'll sent you back in a _shoebox_." The muzzle of Olivia's shotgun drifted, not quite aiming at the enraged man.

"You can't talk to me like that!"

Alicia ignored him, instead addressing Olivia. "If he's not gone in twenty seconds, shoot him." The girl's light blinked green, and she racked the slide. The batarian cursed, and beat a hasty retreat.

"Well. _That_ certainly went well," Miranda said acidly.

The Spectre gave her a mild look. "I told you I'm not here to play games, Miranda. If we dance to Aria's tune, we'll end up mired in her issues. I said I wanted to keep it clean, and I mean it."

Miranda gave her an exasperated look. "There's not a diplomatic bone in your body, is there?"

Alicia sighed. "You and I both know how this works. If we go along with Aria's petty little demand, we look weak in the eyes of everyone else, and nothing gets done. In their eyes, negotiating is for the one with less guns."

Miranda's eyes narrowed. "_I_ know that, but that's because it comes with the job. Where would a soldier like you learn it?"

Alicia smiled wanly. "Legacy of a misspent youth."

The Cerberus operative shook her head. "I think you're wrong. But it's a moot point now. Let's just go."

Shepard nodded, and the group continued in toward the station proper. She opened a private com channel. "Lucy, go dark. You're our ace in the hole if I'm wrong and this goes to shit." Lucy's light winked green, and the slight girl engaged her armor's optical cloak and vanished. She still showed up on Alicia's motion tracker, but nobody without one - which is to say, nobody except the rest of Blue Team - would know she was there. Alicia palmed the door at the end of the walkway stepped through, followed by the rest of her team.

They were immediately assaulted by a barrage of sensory input. The dull roar of a crowd that had been growing since they stepped off the ship came to a sudden crescendo, neon lights cast harsh, colored light, and, judging from Jacob and Miranda's faintly disgusted expressions, the smell wasn't exactly pleasant. They didn't have to look far to find Afterlife, either - it dominated the space around the dock. A long line of people extended from the door, which Alicia promptly ignored. She breezed by the Elcor bouncer with an offhand "Aria's expecting us," and walked through the door and down the screen-lined hallway into the club. She toggled her sensor suite's newly-installed threat-detection system, and watched as her suit's sensors painted the outlines of weapons onto her HUD. She raised an eyebrow. Nearly everyone in the club was carrying, including one of the scantily-clad Asari dancers. Her other eyebrow joined the first. Full marks for creativity for _that_ hiding spot.

A lone Asari sat on a small balcony behind the main stage. Alicia zoomed in on her face, and cross-checked the picture stored with her file in the _Normandy_'s database. "That's her."

Aria T'Loak watched her all the way up the stairs, eyes calculating. A several rifle-armed bodyguards stood sentinel on the stairs and balcony, one of whom stepped forward with a handheld scanner. Alicia stood patiently until he was satisfied, then walked onto the balcony where Aria lounged on a large, curved sofa.

The crime boss sat silently for a moment, deliberately keeping Shepard waiting, watching as Blue Team spread out along both stairways and the balcony itself. The Spectre pulled her helmet off and sat casually, holding the helmet in her lap. There was a slight groan of stressed metal as the sofa bent slightly under the weight of her armor. The Asari's mouth tightened slightly.

After a long pause, she spoke. "Commander Shepard. You've got more balls than most krogan I've met, waltzing in here like you own Omega and intimidating my employees." Her eyes flashed. "Let me tell you something, little girl. There's only one rule on Omega."

"Don't _fuck_ with Aria."

Alicia gave her an icy smile. "Oddly enough, I have a similar rule. One that you've broken several times already."

Aria's lip curled. "You see, though, the difference is that you can't enforce your rules here. I can." She snapped her fingers, and the guard on the balcony behind Shepard leveled his rifle.

Alicia's smile became even colder. "Oh? Is that so?" She pressed a button in the helmet's chin guard. Every member of Blue Team saw a yellow light flash on their HUD. Within two seconds, every one of Aria's guards, except the one on the balcony, had been restrained in the steel grip of a Spartan. The high walls around the stairs kept them out of view of the crowd, who kept on partying, oblivious of the confrontation on the balcony.

The guard behind Shepard suddenly stiffened, then dropped his rifle. Lucy appeared beside him with the muzzle of a suppressed Magnum resting on his ear. Aria froze.

Then, a moment later, she burst out laughing. "Oh, well done! All right, boys, that's enough. Let's pretend we're civilized people instead of getting blood all over the floor." The bodyguards stopped struggling.

"Stand down." The Spartans each disarmed their captive, then released them. Alicia gave the Asari a level look. "Enough _games_, Aria. I didn't come here to play with you."

Aria's laughter subsided to a throaty chuckle. "Of course, of course. You want something, hmm? Information, perhaps?"

"Archangel. And Doctor Mordin Solus."

Aria smiled thinly. "Oh my. You _do_ have a talent for making enemies, don't you? Information's not free. What can you offer me in return?"

"Your continued existence as something other than the worst mess the janitor will ever have the misfortune of cleaning up."

Aria's eyes flashed, but she didn't say a word for nearly thirty seconds. When she spoke, her voice was like hammered brass. "Solus is in the Quarantine Zone. If you want Archangel, talk to the merc recruiter in the private room on the first floor. I won't intervene, on one condition. The moment you have them both, I want you _off my station_. Period."

Alicia nodded easily and stood, pulling her helmet on. "Excellent." She offered her hand. "Pleasure doing business with you."

The Asari's smile as she shook Shepard's hand held enough venom that it should have killed everyone in the room instantly. "Likewise, Commander."

Alicia turned on her heel and walked back down the stairs, her team falling in behind her. She walked into the room below, where a man in blue armor sat at a desk. She walked up and looked down at him. "This where I sign up to go after Archangel?"

The merc looked up, and gave her a patronizing smile. "Well, aren't you sweet? You're in the wrong place, honey. Strippers' corner is that way."

Fred, Kelly, and Linda moved up to flank Alicia, towering over the merc, who suddenly wasn't looking quite so smug. The Spectre grinned wolfishly and laid her MA-5 on the desk. "Show me yours, tough guy. I bet mine's bigger."


	4. Reunion Tour

_**A/N:**__ So I lied. There was no violence last chapter. Trust me, I'll make it up to you. In fact, I'll just go ahead and make a down payment towards that in this chapter._

_Also, for the sake of non-clunky writing, when I refer to 'Blue Team', I'm lumping Shepard in with the Spartans._

Jacob ducked reflexively as another sniper round tore overhead. "Jesus, this is a goddamn warzone!" Alicia heard what might have been a ghost of a chuckle over Blue Team's private comm net.

She switched to external comms. "Okay, people, let's find this Cathka and figure out what the hell's going on. Remember, we've got mercs from Eclipse, Blue Suns, and Blood Pack here, so eyes open and safeties off. I don't want to lose anyone to a trigger-happy mercenary."

Eight green lights acknowledged her. "Yes, Ma'am." Jacob drew a shotgun. Miranda just pulled out her SMG.

They threaded their way through the mercenary encampment, then stopped as Shepard opened a door that hadn't appeared on the tacmap they'd been given when they signed up. It opened into a room full of mechs: several LOKI guard mechs and one YMIR Heavy Mech. Miranda walked up to the YMIR. "Shepard. This could turn into a problem."

Fred's voice came over the comm net. "We could plant a remote-det charge on it. Somewhere easy to miss."

Alicia nodded. "Do it." Fred moved forward, pulling a demo charge from its container. He walked silently past Miranda and pushed the charge far into a vent. He turned to regard the LOKI mechs.

"Not sure about those, though. Not worth a demo charge each."

Alicia paused. "Do we have a line to Dr. Halsey?"

There was a break of about three seconds. "We do now."

The Spectre flashed her acknowledgement, and opened the new channel. "Doctor? How good are you at coding?"

"Very. What do you need?"

"If I can get a hard uplink to my suit to three LOKI guard mechs, can you spoof their IFF detectors?"

"Easily."

"Just a moment, then." Alicia pulled a slim wire from its pouch and connected it to her armored forearm, then slotted the other end into the mech's access port. "Connection should be up now."

"Good. This will only take a moment." Alicia heard the rapid-fire chatter of computer keys, and about twenty seconds later, Halsey confirmed she was finished. Shepard repeated the process with the other two robots, then disconnected and stowed the wire and re-opened external comms. "Dr. Halsey's spoofed the IFFs in these mechs. When the mercs boot them up, they'll open fire."

"Clever. We should get moving - it doesn't sound like the mercs are letting up." Miranda palmed open the door, and stepped out. Jacob followed, along with Blue Team. They continued through the mercenary lines, eventually reaching a Gunship being worked on by a Batarian in Blue Suns colors.

"Sergeant Cathka?" Alicia raised her voice to be heard over the sound of gunfire.

The alien shut off his arc welder, and straightened up. "Yeah, that's me. You the freelancers that signed up to take down Archangel?" He sized them up. "You don't look like most of the other freelancers that come through here."

"That's because we're not. What can you tell me about the situation?"

He shrugged. "Archangel is holed up on the second floor of the building across the way. The only way to get to him is to go across that bridge, but he's got a perfect line of sight to it and there's no cover. He's probably killed fifty of you freelancers today alone."

Alicia crossed her arms. "So what, we're just cannon fodder?"

The Sergeant shook his head. "Not quite. You're a distraction. We've got an infiltration team trying to work around and get through the lower levels. Your job is to keep them occupied, so he doesn't see them coming until it's too late."

The Spectre stood in silence for a good 20 seconds. "So, basically, what you're telling me is that you are luring a bunch of poor, unsuspecting shmucks with the promise of an easy credit into coming up here and being expendable bullet shields for your men?"

Lucy shifted slightly, and Tom put a hand on her shoulder. Shepard didn't think anyone else had noticed, and filed it away to ask the two SPARTAN-IIIs later.

The mercenary was unabashed. "Pretty much."

Alicia ground her teeth, but brought herself under control before she spoke. "All right. When do we go in?"

The Sergeant checked a chronometer. "The infiltration team should be just about ready, so now would be good." He paused, one hand to his ear as he listened to his comm. "We've just got some new intel you might be interested in. Apparently, it's not just archangel up there – there's somebody else working with him. Some other freaking do-gooder that we have to deal with. According to this, he is heavily armored, and uses a heavy machine gun, fired from the hip." He shook his head. "Sounds like some kind of freaking monster if you ask me. But, hey, just another reason for me to be glad the you expendable types will be be headed up the pipe instead of me."

Alicia turned away, and let her team to the edge of the bridge, staying in cover behind a large column.

"All right, People, here's how we do this. Mark, Fred, Kelly, Linda, Jacob, Miranda, Lucy, with me. Tom, take Ash and Olivia, go dark, and secure the lower floor. Mark, I want you cloaked as well when we go across that bridge. Your armor probably isn't thick enough to stop a sniper round."

"As for you three," Alicia turned to the three SPARTAN-IIs, "I don't want to take any chances. I don't know what kind of rifle Archangel has been using to pick these people off, but he will probably be firing on us until we can get up close enough to talk to him."

Kelly's voice cut in. "So, what you're saying is you need a rabbit?"

The Spectre blinked. "Not the way I would've put it, but yes, I suppose I am."

"Well, I'm the right one for the job. I can run faster than just about anything, so if he manages to hit me, he deserves to hit me."

Alicia mulled it over for a moment, then nodded. "Good. That should do it. One the last thing – from this moment on, all mercenaries are to be considered hostile. Understood?"

Eight green lights flashed on her HUD, and she smiled imperceptibly. "On my mark, then. Three… Two… One…_Mark_!"

Each SPARTAN-III vanished as they activated their cloaks. Kelly took off at a dead sprint, zigzagging her way across the bridge. Sniper fire pinged around her, as Archangel tried to compensate for her unexpected speed. The rest of Alicia's team used the distraction to move up behind her, trying to get under the firing arc before Archangel realized what was going on.

They reached the ground floor unscathed, though Fred had taken a hit three quarters of the way across. His shields had completely dissipated the impact, and the monitors in Alicia's suit told her the shot had only dropped his shield about 25%, and it was rapidly recharging.

They moved into the building, and her motion tracker warned her that several mercenaries were already in the building. She dropped a waypoint on them, and designated Fred and Kelly to take them out. Two green lights, and the Spartans moved silently off. Seconds later, she heard a quartet of short bursts of rifle fire, and the green lights blinked again.

She then dropped a second waypoint, this time in front of a door on the second floor balcony that, according to her tacmap, should lead to the room Archangel was in. Her team moves up the stairs, and behind her, she registered the sound of the door opening and closing. Her second team was on the move.

As she reached the top of the stairs, a door opened behind her, and a pair of mercenaries in Blue Suns colors came out, assault rifles already out and scanning. Without conscious thought, she snapped her rifle to her shoulder and drilled a perfect three round burst into each man's head, then looked at her rifle wonderingly.

Compared to her usual weapons, there was virtually no recoil, and the unusual, explosive sound it made was slightly unnerving. She grinned wolfishly. It was reached the door, blinked her green light in a slow three-count, and palmed it open. Fred and Kelly were the first to through the door, followed by Alicia herself and Jacob. Miranda, Mark, and Linda brought up the rear, the latter two's weapons unsuited for close quarters.

A figure in blue armor, Turian by the look of it, stood in the middle of the room, braced against the sofa. Alicia recognized the rifle in his hand as an M-92 Mantis, and he held up the other hand, one finger extended in a 'just a second' gesture. He steadied the rifle, waited a beat, and squeezed the trigger. A choked scream came from the bridge, and he lowered the rifle, and pulled his helmet off. Alicia blinked, then grinned broadly and stowed her rifle.

The Spartans' grip on their weapons tightened in reflex, another fact she made note of for later.

"Garrus!"

"Shepard. Good to see you again." The Turian veteran gave her what passed for a smile. "What brings you to Omega?"

The Spectre pulled her rifle back out, ejected the partially spent magazine, and began loading loose rounds into it. "I'm putting together a team to take down the Collectors. They've been hitting Human colonies across the Terminus Systems. I intend to stop them."

Garrus snorted. "Just like old times, eh?" He turned away, and sighted on the bridge. "I'm in, Shepard, but we have to get through these mercenaries first. You getting in here was the easy part. Getting out, not so much. I assume you have a plan?"

Alicia gestured to the Spartans behind her, as well as Jacob and Miranda. "Thought we could shoot our way out. Mix things up a bit."

Miranda gave her a Look. "That's what you said on Freedom's Progress - remember how _that_ ended?"

"With all three of us alive, and a set of new allies to boot."

"_Barely_ alive!"

"Still counts."

Garrus laughed. "Well, I'll be damned. It really is like old times."

Alicia turned into address her team. "This is Garrus Vakarian. He was with me when we took down Saren and the Geth."

The Spartans nodded in understanding; one of the first things they had done aboard the Normandy was read as much of the Codex is possible.

She turned back to the Turian. "Garrus, these are Jacob and Miranda. They're from Cerberus. The big ones are called Spartans. They're...not from around here. It's a long story."

Garrus nodded. "We can swap stories later. Right now, we need to worry about getting out of here. I've held them off for several days, but they're wearing me down."

"Of course. Mark, Linda, set up and start picking them off. Prioritize anyone who looks like an officer area. Miranda, Jacob, stay with Garrus. Make sure they don't get to him. Fred, Kelly, secure the door to the bridge. I don't want anything getting through. Lucy, you're with me. We're rapid reaction." Lights winked on as she gave Blue Team their orders, and the Spartans spread out.

Tom's voice came over the comm. "We need you on the ground level. There's something you need to see."

Alicia blinked her green light, then turned to Garrus and reactivated her external speakers. "Anything on the ground floor I should know about?"

He nodded. "My backup. He's a vigilante, same as me. Big guy, very strong. Doesn't talk a lot. Wears heavy armor. Never seen anything like it. About like your Spartans, really."

Alicia nodded. "All right. I'm needed downstairs. Let me know if they start putting too much pressure on." She turned, shoulder weapon, and left the room, heading down the stairs. Lucy followed as she walked through the door through which Tom's team had gone, and then make their way through a court or is broken up with barriers and pipes. As they progressed, the now-familiar sound of a slugthrower firing on full automatic became louder.

Shepard stayed low as they rounded the corner, and zoomed in on the hulking figure standing in the middle of the room, firing a large machine gun into a pack of Vorcha. His armor was battered, and the entire sections of it to have been replaced, but it still bore a striking resemblance to the MJOLNIR armor Fred, Kelly, and Linda wore. She did not see any of the SPARTAN IIIs, but her motion tracker told her that they had spread out along one wall, still cloaked. She waited until the last Vorcha had fallen before stepping out. The figure spun and leveled his weapon.

Alicia raised one hand. "On fire, hold fire! Friendly!" The machine gun's muzzle tracked away from her, and she pulled her helmet off. "Alicia Shepard, Alliance military."

The figure did likewise, revealing a pale-skinned man with a weathered, scarred face. He wore his hair cut close to the scalp, and a mustache hid his upper lip. "Pleased to meet you."

Alicia was struck by something about the way the big man carried himself. She opened a line to Fred. "Fred. I'm sending you imagery from my helmet feed. You recognize this guy."

There was a full thirty seconds of silence from the other end. When Fred spoke again, his voice sounded slightly choked. "Get Halsey. She'll want to see this."

Alicia wordessly patched the Doctor's line into the channel. "Dr. Halsey. I'm sending you imagery from my helmet feed. Do you recognize this?"

There was a crash, like someone had dropped a mug. Halsey's voice shook. "Mother of God. It's Jorge."

_**A/N:**__ And that's the end of Archangel Part One. I thought about going a little further, but this was such a perfect place to stop that I couldn't resist. Does that make me a horrible person? _

_I feel like I may be going a bit too fast, skimping on description. In this case, it's mostly because I know a lot of my readers will know this from the game, so I don't need to write it blow-by-blow. When it deviates significantly from the canon, I tend to slow down a bit. Let me know if you feel like I'm moving too quickly, skipping too many details. I need the feedback._

_Until next time, Readers mine. I'm writing this on the fly, folks, so let me know how I'm doing. Hope you're enjoying this as much as I am!_


End file.
